Perhaps the most pivotal scene in the third episode of HBO's The Last of Us takes place around an antique piano. Lonely survivalist Bill (Nick Offerman) has just reluctantly welcomed Frank (Murray Bartlett), an uninfected stranger, into his fortified Boston-area home for a shower and a decadent meal of rabbit and Beaujolais. Frank then admitted that he couldn't stop staring at the nearby owner's 1948 piano and began flipping through the scores of Beethoven's "Für Elise" and Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffmann" before finally finding the winner. "This is you," he told Bill, then pulled out The Linda Ronstadt Greatest Hits and flipped through his "favorite" song: 1970's "Long Long Time."
After Frank, who admits he's "not a professional," begins to awkwardly play and sing an upbeat version of the song, Bill steps in to perform his own vocals. “Love lasts, takes it all in stride,” he sings in a rough yet tender voice. "Sounds like good advice, but no one is on my side. Time washes it away and the wounds of love are invisible. That's what I'm told, but I don't know what it means. Because I've tried everything Make you mine and I think I will love you for a long, long time.”
Clearly moved, Frank asked Bill who the girl he was singing about was a judge of his sexual orientation, and soon after, the two were kissing passionately. This moment is so crucial to Bill and Frank's epic gay romance that the episode was even named "Long Long Time." However, Ronstadt fans may have noticed that The Last of Us' creative team was selective about which parts of the song written by Gary White were used, as later lyrics depicted a "The love that never existed." One fan on Twitter even called "Long Long Time" "the best song about unrequited love ever written."
The third episode, which aired on January 29, was the show's most-watched first-day episode to date - Variety reported that 6.4 million viewers tuned in on Sunday night. After the poignant episode was released, it seemed like a large portion of fans headed directly to the streaming platform to listen to Ronstadt's hit song.
The episode, which lasted just over an hour, aired on the platform at 9pm ET, and by midnight Ronstadt had already seen a huge increase in streaming traffic. The next day, Spotify shared on Twitter that U.S. streaming for "Long Long Time" had increased by more than 4,900%. "Oh, our hearts were broken last night..." Spotify wrote.
Many people also took to Twitter to share their love for the artist after the episode aired. Actor Lynda Carter even weighed in on Ronstadt's revival. "Linda Ronstadt is a national treasure. There is no shame in discovering great music through television...listen and savor," she wrote.
Some people couldn't help but feel emotional after hearing this song again. One user wrote: "Watched The Last of Us last night and cried like a baby. Added Linda Ronstadt's Long, Long Time to my Spotify collection before bed When I woke up and saw this song, I immediately started crying again.
Meanwhile, the rest of the audience was simply moved by Offerman's poignant performance of the song. Another fan tweeted: "Nick Offerman's performance of Linda Ronstadt is a surprisingly endearing example of why an unpolished, unprofessional voice can sometimes sound serious Singing is more impactful than a conventionally good voice.”
Others joked that the HBO episode was likely to significantly boost Ronstadt's Spotify sales, with some even predicting, correctly, that the musician would certainly replicate the runaway success of Kate Bush when Netflix's Strange Story" focuses on 1985's "Running Up That Hill." Deal with God)” Season 4.
After the episode aired on January 29, writer and series co-creator Craig Mazin explained that he knew he needed an "incredibly sad song about love." Longing for, but never getting love, just calm yourself down and accept the fact that you will never get love.” Alone" but it couldn't be "on the nose" or "a song we all know." So he texted his friend, SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky, who recommended Ronstadt's Silk Purse album for Grammy-nominated track. “The purpose was to show the arc of commitment,” he told IndieWire of his approach to the Bill and Frank episode. “The whole idea was to highlight moments in your life where love has a different meaning. "
Going forward, Bill's unexpected emotional arc will likely best reflect Joel's (Pedro Pascal) inner journey - something the creators may also use the song to convey. At the end of the episode, after Bill and Frank's fate is revealed, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) finds a tape labeled "Mixed for Bill" and puts it into the truck's tape recorder middle. Although Joel initially resists her move, hearing "Long Long Time" played seems to soften him. "Oh, no, wait," Ronstadt told the teen as his voice began to come from the speakers. "Never mind it, this is fine, this is Linda Ronstadt."
